


Jacket

by Lizardbeth



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Episode Related, F/M, Tok'ra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-25
Updated: 2011-06-25
Packaged: 2017-10-20 17:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/215169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizardbeth/pseuds/Lizardbeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A different conversation and a different outcome in <i>Ripple Effect</i>...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jacket

Sam grabbed the desert camo sleeve of his jacket as he turned to leave, knowing this was her last chance.

"Don't go," she blurted.

Martouf faced her. "Sam..."

"I know," she interrupted, anxious, "I know your reality is under attack, too. I heard Janet, and I understand. Really I do. I'm sure I would feel the same. But your being there isn't going to make any difference. But here, you can, both you and Lantash. The Tok'ra need you - there's so many lost, and the alliance is gone. You could help that. We need you." She paused and admitted the truth, "I need you. Please, stay."

His gaze lowered, either thinking or talking to Lantash silently, before he met her eyes again. "I... you and I ... the other Sam ..." He looked away and there was a silent, "You left" in the pause, before he said simply, "it didn't work out."

She gave a bitter little laugh. "Well, you and I didn't work out so well in this reality either. I watched you die, Martouf. And it was only that moment I realized what I'd lost. But it was too late." Her arms went around herself, trying to keep in the spark of warmth she'd felt when she saw his face again. Something - all the remnants of Jolinar - had frozen when her hand had pulled the trigger on him. "Is it so selfish to think this could be our second chance, that we could put right what got so screwed up in both our realities? Is it so wrong?"

"This isn't our world -- "

"It is," she insisted, "It's so close your Cameron won't even suffer entropic cascade failure. Events were almost exactly the same except for you and me." She stopped and nobody spoke. The silence seemed full and expectant. She murmured, "You can't tell me you don't still love me. I won't believe you."

"Sam - " he protested but couldn't finish, trailing off into silence. His expression would be neutral to anyone else, but she could read the small frown and the tightened mouth, and knew he was upset. He knew what he should say, the duty that he should follow, but he didn't want to. The conflict gave her an opening and she moved to take advantage of it.

She took the front of his jacket in both hands and pulled him into her. He didn't resist, his hands sliding around her waist. They were close in height, and eye to eye, she thought she might just stare into those sky blue eyes forever. "Don't go," she repeated in a whisper and leaned forward. It was slow-motion, closer and closer, and her heart started pounding. She didn't close her eyes and neither did he, not until their lips met.

At first it was tentative, barely a brush. But when no ghosts showed themselves, and the universe stayed in its usual configuration, their lips joined again, with more pressure and certainty. A taste, to discover what was different, only to discover nothing was. It should have seemed strange how familiar he felt, when they'd never done this before. But her hands knew exactly where to rest to pull his hips into her, to feel the belt buckle press against her stomach. Then she pushed her fingers beneath his shirt to find the heat of his skin, and the feel of the lean muscle was like a book she'd memorized long ago. Memories buried so deeply they'd become instinct showed her to draw her nails lightly down his spine, and he inhaled sharply, tensing and shuddering.

"Samantha," he whispered like a prayer and his hands cradled her face like a precious icon. His mouth covered hers again, now with confidence that she wasn't going to vanish and neither was he. They stayed locked together with scarcely a molecule between them, ignoring all of the universes outside of each other.

And this time, there was no busybody Asgard to interrupt them.


End file.
